One day, a happy hour being fixed upon, the prince Bakhtiyar was married to the princess Roshan Akhtar; and the young merchant of Yaman [407] was married to the princess of Dimashk; and the prince of Persia [408] was married to the princess of Basra; and the prince of 'Ajam [409] was married to the princess of the Franks; Bihzad Khan was married to the daughter of the king of Nimroz; and the prince of Nimroz was married to the jinn's daughter; and the prince of China [410] was married to the daughter of the old blind man of Hindustan; she who had been in the possession of Maliki Sadik. Through the favour of Malik Shah Bal, every hopeless person gained his desires, and obtained his wishes; afterwards, they all enjoyed themselves for forty days, and passed their time, night and day, in pleasures and festivity.
At last, Malik Shah Bal gave to each prince rich and rare presents, and dismissed them to their different countries. All were pleased and satisfied, and set out and reached their homes in safety, and began their reigns; but Bihzad Khan, and the merchant's son of Yaman, of their own accord, remained with the king Azad Bakht, and in the end the young merchant of Yaman was made head steward to his majesty, and Bihzad Khan generalissimo of the army of the fortunate prince Bakhtiyar; whilst they lived, they enjoyed every felicity. O God! as these four Darweshes and the king Azad Bakht attained their wishes, in like manner grant to all hopeless beings the wishes of their hearts, through thy power and goodness, and by the medium of the five pure bodies, [411] the twelve Imams, and the fourteen innocents, [412] on all of whom be the blessing of God! Amen, O God of the universe.
When this book was finished, through the favour of God, I took it into my mind to give it such a name, that the date should be thereby found out. [413] When I made the calculation, I found that I had begun to compose this work in the end of the year of the Hijra 1215, and owing to want of leisure, it was not finished until the beginning of the year 1217; I was reflecting on this circumstance, when it occurred to me that the words Bagh O Bahar formed a proper title, as it answered to the date of the year when the work was finished; so I gave it this name. Whoever shall read it, he will stroll as it were through a garden; moreover, the garden is exposed to the blasts of winter, but this book is not; it will ever be in verdure.
When this Bagh O Bahar was finished, the year was 1217; do you now stroll through it night and day, as its name and date is Bagh O Bahar; the blasts of winter can do it no injury; for this Bahar [414] is ever green and fresh; it hath been nourished with the blood of my heart, and its (the heart's) pieces are its leaves and fruits;—all will forget me after death;—but this book will remain as a souvenir; whoever reads it, let him remember me. This is my agreement with the readers; if there is an error, excuse it; for amidst flowers lie concealed the thorns; man is liable to faults and errors, and he will fail, let him be ever so careful. I have no other wish except this, and it is my earnest prayer. O my Creator, that I may ever remain in remembrance of Thee, and thus pass my nights and days! That I may not be questioned with severity on the night of death, and the day of reckoning! O God, in both worlds shower thy favours on me, through the mediation of the great prophet!
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE
It must be allowed, that the author has displayed great adroitness in the "denouement" of his tale. In the course of a few pages all the principal characters, male and female, are suddenly produced, safe and unscathed, before the reader. To be sure, this is done by the aid of a little "diablerie," but then it is done very neatly,—much more so than in some of the clumsy fictions of the late Ettrick Shepherd, to say nothing of the edifying legends about the Romish saints which the good people of southern Europe are taught to swallow as gospel. Finally, be it remembered, that Oriental story-tellers have never subscribed to Horace's precept,—
"Nec deus interait, nisi digens vindice nodus
Inciderit"
On the contrary, their rule is, when, by a free use of the supernatural, you have got the whole of your characters into a regular fix, it is but fair that you should get them off by the same means.